Karl Kenzie Hutchins life started on January 10, 1927 in Joplin, Missouri and ended on October 9, 2000 in Keiser, Oregon. He was born the second child to James and Delpha Stout Hutchins.
Karl was intelligent and very bright. He had a winning personality. I never went anywhere with him that we didn't meet someone he knew and got a warm welcome with a funny story from their relationship. When he first came to Pueblo as a very young man, he started as night clerk for the Manatoo Springs Whitman and worked his way up to head bookkeeper in less than 4 years. Not bad for a man who never had formal training or even finished school.
His child hood was very tough. When Karl was two his out of work father was sent to prison in the depth of the prison making a desperate situation even worse. From the time they were children his brother, Jim, took care of Karl. Whether it was getting out of financial scraped or a fist fight Jim was there for him. They joined the circus when they were 14 and 16 years old. Karl had a dispute over a shirt that did not belong to him with one of the roustabouts. He had Karl down and doing serious damage when Jim settled the dispute with a chair. The hasty departure ended the circus careers but avoided a discussion with the sheriff.
He was great fun to be around. Lot of laughs and kidding. When I was 3 or 4 we lived across from a high school. He taught me to whistle. I would whistle at the girls for him for a penny a whistle.
On a trip to the Penelton Roundup, he was having a beer (perhaps several) with some of the Indians performers when the conversation came around to bull riding. The beer must have been talking. He told them he could ride. He said when he crawled on that bulls back, it started climbing the chute walls. They opened the gate the bull jumped straight up and when its front feet came down the bull turned left and Karl went straight. That was the end of the Rodeo career and the drinking with the Indians.
Karl was a good solder. He was promoted to PFC numerous times. His problem centered around drinking. When he got leave he would get drunk and not report on time. The longest he was a PFC was 40 days on the boat going to Germany. The highest rank he achieved was PFC. He once said if he got all of his promotions in a straight line he would have been a four star general.
When his sister, Juanita died he took it very hard. It was believed he encouraged her to join the Army and some how felt responsible for her death . He really crawled into a bottle and went AWOL. He came to Missouri where we were at at that time and Mom talked him in to going back. He was within hours of being a deserter. He served his time in the brigg and ended up getting a honorable discharge.
Francis was as a laboratory technician in the clinic that was treating his mothers leukemia and that is how they met. The early years living in California were apparently good ones for them. They spent a lot of time in the outdoors hiking, mountain climbing, and fishing.
When he was drinking, Karl was not a good father or husband. He was obnoxious and abusive. As he got older he became more so. Alcohol became his first priority and his family was a distant second. Karl was a high functioning drunk. He work at the State of Oregon as Paving Crew Supervisor and later Surplus Sales Manager for years. Alcohol finally cost him that job also. Life for Francis and the children must have been unbearable and she did her best to make it unbearable for him. Fran was not a gifted cook or house keeper, a major sore spot for Karl. Karl was neat and tidy especially about his personal appearance. I remember when he was living at home, him ironing shirts that he had sent out to the laundry because they weren't done to suit him.
He said he stuck it out for the children. His relationship with his children was not very good. When his youngest finally finished high school, he left Fran. Karl moved into an apartment owned by Irene Cain. Karl was drinking at the time and Irene told him she does not associate with drunks. if he wanted to be around her, he had to quit drinking. He quit and did not take another drink. Their relationship was a loving one. He treated Irene with love and respect. He seemed to have found happiness at last. Karl and Irene were together for 18 years. Marriage was never an option as Fran had refused to give him a divorce.
The summer I was working in Salem we got to spent time together. I discovered the brother from my child hood. He was bright, articulate, quick witted and outrageously funny. He was a person who seemed to had finally found happiness. He was my brother that I had known and loved from my childhood. He had finally came home.
I knew he was very sick and went down to see him. We had a good visit even though he was in a lot of pain. He ask me for 20 dollars bill. To this day I have no idea as to why or what he wanted it for. I gave him one for each hand and that seem to please him. I got up to leave and hug him and kissed him on the forehead and told him I loved him and he said "It's been a hell of a ride". He died the next morning.
It is sad what the bottle took away from him, his family, and the people who loved him. I feel sad and angry for all of the good times we could have had and the pain that his drinking inflicted on the people who did not deserve it. Fred Wale (Karl's brother)
Karl was intelligent and very bright. He had a winning personality. I never went anywhere with him that we didn't meet someone he knew and got a warm welcome with a funny story from their relationship. When he first came to Pueblo as a very young man, he started as night clerk for the Manatoo Springs Whitman and worked his way up to head bookkeeper in less than 4 years. Not bad for a man who never had formal training or even finished school.
His child hood was very tough. When Karl was two his out of work father was sent to prison in the depth of the prison making a desperate situation even worse. From the time they were children his brother, Jim, took care of Karl. Whether it was getting out of financial scraped or a fist fight Jim was there for him. They joined the circus when they were 14 and 16 years old. Karl had a dispute over a shirt that did not belong to him with one of the roustabouts. He had Karl down and doing serious damage when Jim settled the dispute with a chair. The hasty departure ended the circus careers but avoided a discussion with the sheriff.
He was great fun to be around. Lot of laughs and kidding. When I was 3 or 4 we lived across from a high school. He taught me to whistle. I would whistle at the girls for him for a penny a whistle.
On a trip to the Penelton Roundup, he was having a beer (perhaps several) with some of the Indians performers when the conversation came around to bull riding. The beer must have been talking. He told them he could ride. He said when he crawled on that bulls back, it started climbing the chute walls. They opened the gate the bull jumped straight up and when its front feet came down the bull turned left and Karl went straight. That was the end of the Rodeo career and the drinking with the Indians.
Karl was a good solder. He was promoted to PFC numerous times. His problem centered around drinking. When he got leave he would get drunk and not report on time. The longest he was a PFC was 40 days on the boat going to Germany. The highest rank he achieved was PFC. He once said if he got all of his promotions in a straight line he would have been a four star general.
When his sister, Juanita died he took it very hard. It was believed he encouraged her to join the Army and some how felt responsible for her death . He really crawled into a bottle and went AWOL. He came to Missouri where we were at at that time and Mom talked him in to going back. He was within hours of being a deserter. He served his time in the brigg and ended up getting a honorable discharge.
Francis was as a laboratory technician in the clinic that was treating his mothers leukemia and that is how they met. The early years living in California were apparently good ones for them. They spent a lot of time in the outdoors hiking, mountain climbing, and fishing.
When he was drinking, Karl was not a good father or husband. He was obnoxious and abusive. As he got older he became more so. Alcohol became his first priority and his family was a distant second. Karl was a high functioning drunk. He work at the State of Oregon as Paving Crew Supervisor and later Surplus Sales Manager for years. Alcohol finally cost him that job also. Life for Francis and the children must have been unbearable and she did her best to make it unbearable for him. Fran was not a gifted cook or house keeper, a major sore spot for Karl. Karl was neat and tidy especially about his personal appearance. I remember when he was living at home, him ironing shirts that he had sent out to the laundry because they weren't done to suit him.
He said he stuck it out for the children. His relationship with his children was not very good. When his youngest finally finished high school, he left Fran. Karl moved into an apartment owned by Irene Cain. Karl was drinking at the time and Irene told him she does not associate with drunks. if he wanted to be around her, he had to quit drinking. He quit and did not take another drink. Their relationship was a loving one. He treated Irene with love and respect. He seemed to have found happiness at last. Karl and Irene were together for 18 years. Marriage was never an option as Fran had refused to give him a divorce.
The summer I was working in Salem we got to spent time together. I discovered the brother from my child hood. He was bright, articulate, quick witted and outrageously funny. He was a person who seemed to had finally found happiness. He was my brother that I had known and loved from my childhood. He had finally came home.
I knew he was very sick and went down to see him. We had a good visit even though he was in a lot of pain. He ask me for 20 dollars bill. To this day I have no idea as to why or what he wanted it for. I gave him one for each hand and that seem to please him. I got up to leave and hug him and kissed him on the forehead and told him I loved him and he said "It's been a hell of a ride". He died the next morning.
It is sad what the bottle took away from him, his family, and the people who loved him. I feel sad and angry for all of the good times we could have had and the pain that his drinking inflicted on the people who did not deserve it. Fred Wale (Karl's brother)
Karl Kenzie Hutchins life started on January 10, 1927 in Joplin, Missouri and ended on October 9, 2000 in Keiser, Oregon. He was born the second child to James and Delpha Stout Hutchins.
Karl was intelligent and very bright. He had a winning personality. I never went anywhere with him that we didn't meet someone he knew and got a warm welcome with a funny story from their relationship. When he first came to Pueblo as a very young man, he started as night clerk for the Manatoo Springs Whitman and worked his way up to head bookkeeper in less than 4 years. Not bad for a man who never had formal training or even finished school.
His child hood was very tough. When Karl was two his out of work father was sent to prison in the depth of the prison making a desperate situation even worse. From the time they were children his brother, Jim, took care of Karl. Whether it was getting out of financial scraped or a fist fight Jim was there for him. They joined the circus when they were 14 and 16 years old. Karl had a dispute over a shirt that did not belong to him with one of the roustabouts. He had Karl down and doing serious damage when Jim settled the dispute with a chair. The hasty departure ended the circus careers but avoided a discussion with the sheriff.
He was great fun to be around. Lot of laughs and kidding. When I was 3 or 4 we lived across from a high school. He taught me to whistle. I would whistle at the girls for him for a penny a whistle.
On a trip to the Penelton Roundup, he was having a beer (perhaps several) with some of the Indians performers when the conversation came around to bull riding. The beer must have been talking. He told them he could ride. He said when he crawled on that bulls back, it started climbing the chute walls. They opened the gate the bull jumped straight up and when its front feet came down the bull turned left and Karl went straight. That was the end of the Rodeo career and the drinking with the Indians.
Karl was a good solder. He was promoted to PFC numerous times. His problem centered around drinking. When he got leave he would get drunk and not report on time. The longest he was a PFC was 40 days on the boat going to Germany. The highest rank he achieved was PFC. He once said if he got all of his promotions in a straight line he would have been a four star general.
When his sister, Juanita died he took it very hard. It was believed he encouraged her to join the Army and some how felt responsible for her death . He really crawled into a bottle and went AWOL. He came to Missouri where we were at at that time and Mom talked him in to going back. He was within hours of being a deserter. He served his time in the brigg and ended up getting a honorable discharge.
Francis was as a laboratory technician in the clinic that was treating his mothers leukemia and that is how they met. The early years living in California were apparently good ones for them. They spent a lot of time in the outdoors hiking, mountain climbing, and fishing.
When he was drinking, Karl was not a good father or husband. He was obnoxious and abusive. As he got older he became more so. Alcohol became his first priority and his family was a distant second. Karl was a high functioning drunk. He work at the State of Oregon as Paving Crew Supervisor and later Surplus Sales Manager for years. Alcohol finally cost him that job also. Life for Francis and the children must have been unbearable and she did her best to make it unbearable for him. Fran was not a gifted cook or house keeper, a major sore spot for Karl. Karl was neat and tidy especially about his personal appearance. I remember when he was living at home, him ironing shirts that he had sent out to the laundry because they weren't done to suit him.
He said he stuck it out for the children. His relationship with his children was not very good. When his youngest finally finished high school, he left Fran. Karl moved into an apartment owned by Irene Cain. Karl was drinking at the time and Irene told him she does not associate with drunks. if he wanted to be around her, he had to quit drinking. He quit and did not take another drink. Their relationship was a loving one. He treated Irene with love and respect. He seemed to have found happiness at last. Karl and Irene were together for 18 years. Marriage was never an option as Fran had refused to give him a divorce.
The summer I was working in Salem we got to spent time together. I discovered the brother from my child hood. He was bright, articulate, quick witted and outrageously funny. He was a person who seemed to had finally found happiness. He was my brother that I had known and loved from my childhood. He had finally came home.
I knew he was very sick and went down to see him. We had a good visit even though he was in a lot of pain. He ask me for 20 dollars bill. To this day I have no idea as to why or what he wanted it for. I gave him one for each hand and that seem to please him. I got up to leave and hug him and kissed him on the forehead and told him I loved him and he said "It's been a hell of a ride". He died the next morning.
It is sad what the bottle took away from him, his family, and the people who loved him. I feel sad and angry for all of the good times we could have had and the pain that his drinking inflicted on the people who did not deserve it. Fred Wale (Karl's brother)
Karl was intelligent and very bright. He had a winning personality. I never went anywhere with him that we didn't meet someone he knew and got a warm welcome with a funny story from their relationship. When he first came to Pueblo as a very young man, he started as night clerk for the Manatoo Springs Whitman and worked his way up to head bookkeeper in less than 4 years. Not bad for a man who never had formal training or even finished school.
His child hood was very tough. When Karl was two his out of work father was sent to prison in the depth of the prison making a desperate situation even worse. From the time they were children his brother, Jim, took care of Karl. Whether it was getting out of financial scraped or a fist fight Jim was there for him. They joined the circus when they were 14 and 16 years old. Karl had a dispute over a shirt that did not belong to him with one of the roustabouts. He had Karl down and doing serious damage when Jim settled the dispute with a chair. The hasty departure ended the circus careers but avoided a discussion with the sheriff.
He was great fun to be around. Lot of laughs and kidding. When I was 3 or 4 we lived across from a high school. He taught me to whistle. I would whistle at the girls for him for a penny a whistle.
On a trip to the Penelton Roundup, he was having a beer (perhaps several) with some of the Indians performers when the conversation came around to bull riding. The beer must have been talking. He told them he could ride. He said when he crawled on that bulls back, it started climbing the chute walls. They opened the gate the bull jumped straight up and when its front feet came down the bull turned left and Karl went straight. That was the end of the Rodeo career and the drinking with the Indians.
Karl was a good solder. He was promoted to PFC numerous times. His problem centered around drinking. When he got leave he would get drunk and not report on time. The longest he was a PFC was 40 days on the boat going to Germany. The highest rank he achieved was PFC. He once said if he got all of his promotions in a straight line he would have been a four star general.
When his sister, Juanita died he took it very hard. It was believed he encouraged her to join the Army and some how felt responsible for her death . He really crawled into a bottle and went AWOL. He came to Missouri where we were at at that time and Mom talked him in to going back. He was within hours of being a deserter. He served his time in the brigg and ended up getting a honorable discharge.
Francis was as a laboratory technician in the clinic that was treating his mothers leukemia and that is how they met. The early years living in California were apparently good ones for them. They spent a lot of time in the outdoors hiking, mountain climbing, and fishing.
When he was drinking, Karl was not a good father or husband. He was obnoxious and abusive. As he got older he became more so. Alcohol became his first priority and his family was a distant second. Karl was a high functioning drunk. He work at the State of Oregon as Paving Crew Supervisor and later Surplus Sales Manager for years. Alcohol finally cost him that job also. Life for Francis and the children must have been unbearable and she did her best to make it unbearable for him. Fran was not a gifted cook or house keeper, a major sore spot for Karl. Karl was neat and tidy especially about his personal appearance. I remember when he was living at home, him ironing shirts that he had sent out to the laundry because they weren't done to suit him.
He said he stuck it out for the children. His relationship with his children was not very good. When his youngest finally finished high school, he left Fran. Karl moved into an apartment owned by Irene Cain. Karl was drinking at the time and Irene told him she does not associate with drunks. if he wanted to be around her, he had to quit drinking. He quit and did not take another drink. Their relationship was a loving one. He treated Irene with love and respect. He seemed to have found happiness at last. Karl and Irene were together for 18 years. Marriage was never an option as Fran had refused to give him a divorce.
The summer I was working in Salem we got to spent time together. I discovered the brother from my child hood. He was bright, articulate, quick witted and outrageously funny. He was a person who seemed to had finally found happiness. He was my brother that I had known and loved from my childhood. He had finally came home.
I knew he was very sick and went down to see him. We had a good visit even though he was in a lot of pain. He ask me for 20 dollars bill. To this day I have no idea as to why or what he wanted it for. I gave him one for each hand and that seem to please him. I got up to leave and hug him and kissed him on the forehead and told him I loved him and he said "It's been a hell of a ride". He died the next morning.
It is sad what the bottle took away from him, his family, and the people who loved him. I feel sad and angry for all of the good times we could have had and the pain that his drinking inflicted on the people who did not deserve it. Fred Wale (Karl's brother)
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